


blood in the hands of the princess

by soffireheart



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Assasins, Multi, Weapons, dangerous quests, friendships, squad of friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:33:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23582410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soffireheart/pseuds/soffireheart
Summary: Mara is the most wanted person in the galaxy. She is also the best assasin the galaxy had ever seen and the only person willing to take on insane missions, a thing her Squad disagrees on. So when they are all captured by the Goverment of the Galaxy, she doesn't expect to be offered the most difficult mission ever, one that could give them freedom. But at the same time, Mara feels something inside her, a pull from the Force that just gets stronger. And when she tries to find out what it's causing that, secrets from her past come tumbling down in front of her.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy my first fanfic. I saw the theory that probably the Force got Rey pregnant when Ben brought her back to life and since then I haven't stopped thinking about it. This will be a hell of a ride since I'm planning on a big HEA for our favorite couple, so please stick around and don't forget to leave some love if you enjoy it :D

In the darkest of nights she had even seen, Mara knelt behind a massive rock in front of the entrance to the cave.

Had Sudsta ever believed no one would find him there? Or he really imagined he was untouchable, she thought with dry humor. In reality, nobody was hidden when she was the one in charge of finding them.

The night was so dark the stars and the galaxy could be seen if one looked hard enough. Mara raised her eyes to the sky and took a deep breath. This job was going to get messy the second they all entered the cave; she’d better get ready.

She let her mind focus on her breathing and on the sounds her squad was doing behind her. While they all checked no one was on sight and their weapons were ready, Mara reached for the Force until it surrounded her. She could feel every change in the air, the closeness of her friends and where she had to go: inside. The Force would guide her and warn her of all dangers, as she had done ever since she had started her training years ago.

Knelt by her side, Jahn, her closest friend, whispered, “Are we ready?”

Mara opened her eyes and nodded. That was all the confirmation the squad needed. As one, they covered their faces with their hoods, rose and began to walk towards the entrance, Mara at the front. She unleashed her knifes from her side and heard as Jahn, Dmitri and Aisla took out their pistols.

And, just as she had predicted, everything went to hell as soon as they passed the threshold.

Two guards, who had not been guarding as they were supposed to, rushed at them with yells of “intruders!”, but before they could sound the alarm one was shot by Dmitri and the other had one of Mara’s blades stuck in his neck. They fell with a _thud_. She raised her hand and called her knife back to her. They left them dead on the floor without looking back.

Right in front of the squad was a giant electric door and five more guards. There were already on their feet and about to shoot them all. In a single movement, Mara grabbed her knifes with both her hands, pull out her long sword from her back and pressed the button that created electrical waves on its blade. The rest of the squad scattered behind her and Mara faced them alone. The first shot was going straight to her stomach, yet the Force guided her hand to block it with her sword. It was not a light saber, like the ones the Jedi and the Sith had used for years, but the waves were enough to not shatter her sword. The guards stared at her, horror in their eyes.

Mara smiled.

Dmitri and Aisla got out of their hiding then and started to shoot at the guards. They tried to fire back but Mara was stopping every single shot from hitting its mark. All around her, the air seemed to slow down; she entered in a state of calm while blocking the guards’ shots. She could easily stop them with the Force, yet she wanted to move her sword up and down, left and right. She even walked with ease until she was right in front of the only one who hadn’t fallen under her squad’s weapons and slashed his stomach.

There was finally quiet in the corridor. Her friends were panting around her. Mara sheathed her knives and from the corner of her eye saw Rami rushing towards the commands of the door. She was the only one of the six who knew more about technology than anything else, so of course she was in charge of opening it. But the process was taking her more than usual.

“Any time now, Rami,” Dmitri whispered. His weapons were already aimed, getting ready to shoot at anyone that came across the second it opened.

“Why don’t you do it instead, genius? I’m sure you could manage it in twenty years” Rami whispered back, her face focused on the wires in front of her. Mara tried not to laugh at that remark but it proved to be hard once Jahn and Aisla had already started laughing. “This lock is harder than anything else.”

“Or maybe we could stamp Dmitri against the lock and electrocute him, that would open the door much faster,” said Willa.

That added more laughter and Mara couldn’t help herself this time. Dmitri looked like someone had told him he had a piece of paper on his back for the entire day that said “I’m an asshole” and no one had told him.

At last, they heard a _click_ and the door started to rise. Everybody stopped laughing at once.

“You know what to do,” Mara spoke. Her grip in her sword tightened. Once again, she reached for the Force around her and felt every being inside that cave. There were at least fifty people inside, and their mission was to erase them all. But when she was about to give the order to advance, she felt something else.

Five people huddled inside a small room, right outside the office Sudsta used as headquarters of his organization. And Mara knew they were not supposed to be there. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her neck and forced herself to remain in control.

“Leave the last room to me. The rest is yours,” she muttered. They had the hardest work but she knew they could manage it just fine.

The door was completely open now. They advanced in a single line, their weapons at their ready. They entered a big opening, full of crates and openings that sure led to other places like this. Lights hanging from the high ceiling illuminated the place. Mara wondered how Sudsta had managed to build something like this, for she could tell by the markings in the walls this had been made with special heavy machinery. Just like she knew it would happen, people clad in black clothing came rushing at them from behind the crates, yelling for them to get out, that this place was not a place for children.

If they knew they were not children.

Beside her, Jahn laughed and threw his hood back. They all stood back and Mara couldn’t help but smirk. With his blond hair shaved, his broken nose, his dark eyes and his huge body, he looked even older than any of the “guards”. “Watch out, babies,” she spoke out loud, his voice grave, “I was born an old man.” And with those words, he started shooting.

The rest of the squad did the same, while Mara blocked every shot directed at her and keep advancing. Aisla and Dmitri followed her, leaving the others to clear up the place.

They kept walking among the corridors and encountering more guards. Some were human, others were from other species like Geonosians, Palliduvans and others she didn’t recognize but didn’t care to find out. They were just targets to eliminate for her. They were working for the worst drug dealer in the Outer Rim and none of them had any issue with doing the worst deeds.

The Force warned her of more danger coming ahead. She also heard, behind her, how Rami and Jahn were searching the crates for useful things to take back with them: either scrap metal or useful information, even money. They had usually found some valuable things if they looked hard enough. Mara knew Willa had to be roaming the place in search of weapons and somewhere to place the bomb.

And sure enough, a crowd of gangs were waiting for them, right in front of another metal door. That was were probably the office was. No one looked scared or even amused; they seemed angry that some “ _children_ ” had managed to barge into their hideout. A tall, broad man took a step towards them, holding his gun like it was a toy.

“You have a lot of balls to come out in here, but we can forgive your life if you just turn around and leave,” he spoke with a smirk. He was underestimating them. Perfect.

Without a warning, Aisla shot one of the gang member on the right of the man and another on the left. She did so without blinking and hesitating. Then, she drew back her hood. She was shorter and smaller than Mara, but she could explode like a bomb if she got mad. “Oh my dear, you will find us not too willing to comply to that.”

The man looked like he was about to spit fire from his mouth. Instead, he shouted, “KILL THEM ALL!!”

And the hallway turned to chaos.

So many shots fired from every direction that Mara had to take out her second sword and light it as she had done with the first. And then she moved: Mara knelt and then jumped into the air. The Force guided her until she ended up in the middle of the group, surrounded. They all stared at her. She just smiled and stabbed the nearest one who turned out to be a Klatooinian. Blood ran out of his wound and he collapsed to the floor without making a sound. That awoke the others, who started to shoot at her. But Mara twirled her swords and turned her body much faster than before. The Force kept her calm and guided her every move. Soon, all of them were dead around her.

She then heard a commotion and looked up.

“You killed him! I was the one who wanted to kill the asshole!” Aisla was shouting, her hands in the air and with a furious expression on her face. She had a slash on her arm but didn’t care or she hadn’t realized yet.

“Well, I’m sorry, my dear, but he was coming for you and you didn’t even notice. It was either that or you on the floor, bleeding to your death,” Dmitri defended himself. He raised his eyebrow as to dare Aisla to respond to that.

 _The Disaster Squad, everyone_ , Mara thought.

Aisla was about to speak again when she interrupted: “Can you two stop for a second and get the rest of the ones that are hidden away like cowards?”

They both looked at her. “Where are they?” Aisla asked. They were all used to the Force to direct Mara in the right direction.

She focused and spoke with her eyes closed, “There are more tunnels we haven’t explored yet. Some of them look massive, bigger than Jahn, so you better not go alone and find the rest of the group for this.”

“You really want to deal with Sudsta on your own, right? Even thought there are at least 10 people in there.”

Mara just shrugged. “I’ve dealt with worse. Will you do me the honor?”

She turned towards the door. A second later, she saw a blast by her left—Dmitri had blown the controls, which made it open. She didn’t wait to see if the others had left; she just stormed inside. The room was bigger than the one at the entrance; this time, Mara knew this had been created artificially, for there was no way the markings on the walls were natural. This time, the light came from large tubes arranged glued to the walls, and they illuminated the room so much more than the simple light she had seen around the system of caves and corridors. It was filled with control machines lined up against the walls and with people. Most of them were seated next to a large table in the middle of the room. And then, right by her side, was the mere thing she had been assigned to destroy: the drug that made the inhabitants of Serenno go insane, stacked in bags.

Everybody stood up. One of them walked towards her, not drawing his pistol out. Another one who underestimated her.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Go back there and defend the place!”

Mara chuckled. She then grabbed her swords with her left hand and moved the right on the direction of the man. A second later, a small knife she had hidden in her armband was on his heart.

The man feel to the floor and then finally the others moved.

Mara returned her sword to her right hand and fought with all her being. Shots were coming at her from every direction, but the Force was still guiding her. _On your left, watch your back, you have one very close to you on your right_. And so, she moved. She had blood on her hands and body now, and the handles of her swords were getting a bit slippery, but she didn’t let go. She twisted and twirled so fast no one could get a clear shot of her.

When there were finally five people left, the attackers stopped coming. Mara lifted her face to see why… and she swallowed.

Four of them were also wearing swords, spears and long knives. The fifth one was behind them all, a slender man with a face of shock.

Sudsta.

“What do you want?” He asked. Mara couldn’t see if his hands were trembling, but she hoped he was. She had heard rumors once that, even when he had almost been killed in an ambush and had no weapon to defend himself, he hand’t even trembled or shown any feelings whatsoever. This time though, the Force warned her that he felt fear and also anger because someone had dared to barge in like that. “If you come from the Goberment, let me assure you I have all those stupid members under my pocket and they won’t care if you die here.”

He said it with such a conviction Mara could have felt uneasy if it was on another occasion. Before he could control the planet, and later the galaxy, one of said members, behind the leader’s back, had recruited her squad to dispatch him and all its gang of followers. Mara felt pleased the second she received the mission: she had wanted to eliminate Sudsta for years and finally she had her chance.

“Well, too bad I don’t care about if I live of die,” she answered. “Why don’t you come and meet me?” She raised her swords. She knew he was a great fighter and wanted to see how good he was.

“No, thank you. I’d rather see how you die in the hands of the best fighters of the galaxy.”

The four of them advanced towards her. She made a face.

Well, then.

She took a deep breath and ran to meet them.

It was one of the hardest fights of her life. The Force guided her all along but she could feel its strength wavering. Now she had to focus on her own sight and instincts. They clearly had more training than the one she received and didn’t hesitate to hurt her at all. She got slashes all over her arms and legs, but she had no problem on returning them. They danced for what Mara felt like hours until she discovered a weakness in one of them: he was leaning too much on one leg, so she dove for him and cut him in the back of his knee. He crumbled with a gnarl and she took the chance to finish him. Right then, the Force whispered, “ _Behind you_.”

She whirled on her knees, her swords up. Without planning it, she cut them both on the stomach. Before they could even register what was going on, she rose and her swords did the same, slashing them from navel to neck. Blood spattered onto her face, but there was no time to clean it up. She faced the last man standing.

With a scream, he ran. He had two short knives in his hands, perfect for close distance. Mara threw her swords to the floor and picked up her knives again from where she had sheathed them before. The clash of the knives made her ears ring but she didn’t back down. On the contrary, she attacked him with more speed and resolve than ever until the man was panting. She had heard his short breaths when he was fighting earlier and she knew he got tired easily. So, after a short time, she saw him lower his arm for just one second and that was all she needed. She dove and plunged her knife into his chest. His dark eyes opened; she felt his surprise when he realized a young woman had beaten him. She took her weapon back and let him fall.

Only one man remained.

Sudsta was watching her with narrowed eyes. He had a long sword in his right hand and a detonator in the other. Before he could react and threaten her, she moved towards him and cut his left hand.

A second of silence. Then, screams fell from his mouth.

She backed down at the same time he rose his sword with his remaining hand. He had to be suffering but she couldn’t find it in his face. All she saw was pure rage—that was what made him move and try to hurt Mara. She deflected his strikes with ease and took several steps back. He tried to follow her, yet he collapsed on his knees. He had lost so much blood she couldn’t see the stone floor.

It was only then his face changed. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. He was whimpering like a little kid, his eyes the reflection of his terror. Mara stood in front of him, watching without remorse.

“Who are you?” he asked in a trembled voice. He was finally showing what kind of man he really was.

For her answer, she took her hood back. Long and curly hair spilled out of it, the colors shining with what little light they used inside the cave. Pink, red, purple, blue. He knew what he was seeing: a twenty-year-old girl, with dark eyes, fine mouth and her hair the color of the rainbow, the complete opposite of her dark soul.

“I am just a girl dressed up as your worst nightmare.”

And with that, she sliced his neck in one single movement.

Mara watched his life escape his body. If she had been a few years younger, she would have closed her eyes, but not now. It wasn’t until he was really dead that she let out a breath.

 _It’s done_ , the Force whispered back at her.

 _Not yet_ , she thought.

She took her hand to her ear and clicked on her ear pod. They all had it, but she had turned it off the moment the mission started, for she needed to concentrate. As soon as it started working again, she heard the mutters and curses of the squad, how they were searching for the last things they needed and where the hell was she.

“Can you all shut up?” she screamed in the air. She knew they had listened for there was silence. “Willa, come over, here is the stuff we need. And Rami, I need you too.”

“On it,” they muttered.

She cleaned her knives on Sudsta’s clothes and sheathed them. She called her swords and small knife at her and she grabbed them in the air. Without a second glance, she stepped out of the room.

Back on the hallway, she turned slowly and surveyed the place. She sent a wave of the Force around her to look for something amiss. And there, right by the broken controls, was a small crack in the dark stone.

She then heard footsteps. Mara knew without having to look up who they were.

“Oooohhh, jackpot!” Willa walked into the office, her hands clasped in front of her, a huge smile on her face. “I’m going to be so happy to destroy all of this.”

Rami stood next to Mara. “What did you need me for?”

She pointed at the crack. Rami knelt in front of it and began to examine it. She touched with her fingers, her brows furrowed in concentration. “This looks so weird. It appears to be nothing but I hear air coming from it.”

“Just take your time, Rami. I believe there is something inside.” Mara said to her.

Rami nodded and sat down on the floor. For the next few minutes, all the movement came from Willa, who was setting up charges all around the room and taking pieces of computers with important data, and Rami. She was still following the crack with her fingers. Mara gave her all the space she needed and instead focused on hearing what the others were doing. Sure enough, Aisla and Dmitri were having one of their usual small fights while roaming the place while Jahn just checked nobody was left. And finally, Rami spoke up. “Here. It looks rather small to be a door but yes, here it is.”

She stood up and backed down. Willa came from the office to watch as Mara hid her small knife inside her wristband, raised her hand and pointed it at the small frame of the door. Now she could follow the shape of it—she focused only on that small space and kept thinking, “ _open up, get out of there, let me see what’s inside_ ”.

The rock exploded and pieces of stone flew away. Willa screamed and ducked. Rami just hid behind Mara.

The Force had been right in leading her there. There was a small room, with a low ceiling and almost no light. And, curled inside it, were five small figures. She raised her hand. Without even asking for it, Rami gave her a flashlight she always carried with her. Mara knelt and pointed it at the small cave.

Her heart skipped a beat. There were three boys and two girls, not much older than five years-old, with so much dirt she couldn’t even tell if they were wearing clothes at all. Mara heard Willa make a chocking sound and walk away; they smelled so badly, even worse than when they had found Rami.

Just then, the rest of the squad arrived. “What on earth were those screams?” Dmitri began to shout but then he discovered the hole and muttered a single, “Oh.”

The children inside hurled further from the entrance. Mara then spoke, “We are not going to hurt you. We just want you to be safe.”

She could feel what they were thinking. That they were probably liars, that the gang had sent them as a diversion, that they were finally going to die… Mara closed her mind to those thoughts and instead extended a hand. “Please, come with us. I know someone who will take care of you.”

She was _not_ going to mind-trick these children. She was not one of the Jedi, nor the Sith. So she just let the Force run though her and the kids. They saw her intentions, how they would get food, a hot bath, a shelter, and they could be safe.

Slowly, one of the little girls crawled towards the entrance and took her hand. Mara then smiled—not the smirk she had given those men earlier, but an honest smile. Not even her squad saw her smile often like that.

Ten minutes later, they were walking away from the cave, the children following her and the rest of the group behind, some of them with bags on their shoulders. When they were far away from the entrance, Willa then turned and pressed a detonator. A loud BOOM followed it and the children hurled against Mara. But she didn’t even flinched. She kept walking towards their ship while the remains of Sudsta’s gang and its deadly drug were blown up to pieces.

Twelve hours have passed. The children were in the safe place Mara had promised she would take them. And, aboard their ship, the six of them looked at the screen.

They waited a few minutes until a ping sounded and an alarm appeared.

Their payment was finally up. The cheers of the Disaster Squad were so loud Mara had to cover her ears with their hands.


	2. Chapter 2

The squad was sitting in the corner of the bar, mostly hidden from the crowded mess that was the place. It was relatively new; it had been rebuild in Takodana but in a different setting after the original castle had been destroyed by the long gone First Order. According to Maz, it didn’t have the same architecture or air of old times the Kanata’s castle used to have, but it was built of the same grey stone, the first floor was a bar filled with creatures from around the galaxy and the towers had rooms for whoever wanted to stay. The squad had never slept in them, since they preferred the comfort of their ship, but Mara had seen how comfortable and nice they were.

Maz had offered Mara to stay at her place countless of times in the past years since they had met. She had refused every single time. Instead, she visited her whenever she could. Maz was the only link she had from her old life, the one she had buried deep in the past. If Maz had found her before everything, Mara probably wouldn’t be sitting with her squad, in a table so far away from everything.

The bar was crowded that day. There had been moments when they were alone and Willa and Rami fought to decide which music they wanted to play in the music machine that worked whenever it wanted to. Now, they had found that table by a miracle, for it was filled. Mara recognized some Bivalls and Mirialanians among the humans. The majority were talking with ease, but she knew some of the worst deals were made in places like this. And yet, she felt calm, surrounded by her squad and enjoying a drink, something she hadn’t done in a long time.

In a way, she enjoyed those moments of peace with them between missions. They had cleaned up and changed clothes after they got into the ship. They were all wearing light colors and loose garments —even Willa, who rarely dressed up in the few chances they had to, was wearing a long dress. All of them looked relaxed, including Mara. She knew the Force would warn her if there was something coming to them, but they also had the precaution of carrying concealed weapons just in case. But, unlike the others, she was still wearing dark clothes and her swords were noticeable beneath her cloak.

“When will be the day that you wear something else than dark things?” Aisla had asked her before they entered the bar. “Maybe I should give you a pink shirt or anything.”

“Girl, there are colors here.” She pointed at herself: she was wearing green cargo pants, a blue shirt and her boots were brown, not like the black ones she usually wore. “This is a lot even for me.”

“And you had to add on the purple cloak and the arm bands,” her friend responded rolling her eyes.

“Don’t insult the cloak. It’s the only one alive after all the others were destroyed, burned or stolen.” They kept a neutral face until both of them let out a chuckle.

She never took off her arm bands when she was with people. And, of course, Aisla knew why she needed the cloak. Now it was over her head, hiding most of her hair. Word of the work the Disaster squad had accomplished spread worse than the drug they had just destroyed, and she didn’t want nobody to interrupt their small moments of peace.

Which, in that exact moment, was not peaceful at all.

“All I’m saying is,” Dmitri was speaking in a low voice, “that you could tell us where exactly you took those little kids. I mean, I could have checked that myself but the binnacle only registers the last trip made to Serenno.” Of course it did. Mara had induced them all with the Force into a deep sleep after they boarded the ship and didn’t wake up until she left the children in a safe place and then erased the information from the ship’s registry. “And I believe I speak on behalf of everyone that—”

“Dude, no,” Rami interrupted him and raised her hands as if she was pleading not guilty. “Don’t you dare to put words in our mouths when we never said them.”

Dmitri’s mouth fell open. He stared at the rest of them and squared his shoulders. “Are you implying you don’t even care what she is doing with those kids?”

Jahn cleared his throat. “If she had done something irrevocably horrible to those children, I would know, since I’m the only other person in this group that is Force-sensitive and can, unfortunately, feel what Mara is feeling. Not that I’ve been spying on you, obviously,” he added when he saw Mara’s eyebrow quirking up, “but trust her, she knows what she is doing.”

Dmitri was about to say something else, perhaps to try to convince her to speak up, but she had enough. “I don’t get involved in anyone’s secrets, so you shouldn’t either, so please let me enjoy the only alcoholic drink I can get every few months.”

At that, he sank down in his chair and looked down. She knew well enough from his past he didn’t want her to start spilling his secrets.

In fact, she knew them all, even better than she knew herself sometimes. And that thought scared her because, when they had started to form this “weird” family, she had sworn to herself she wouldn’t care for them. She could say now she had failed terribly at that.

Oh, well. She raised her glass and the rest imitated her. Her drink tasted sour in her mouth the first time around, but after a few sips she got used to it again. “What is this drink called again?”

“Fernet,” said Willa. “The bartender told me that was a new one they recently got and I wanted to try it out.”

Beside her, Aisla took a sip and immediately made a face. “Well, I don’t like it at all. I’m going to get some wine, who wants this?” She offered her glass while she got up and both Jahn and Dmitri reached up to get it. When they grasped it, they looked at each other with a stare so cold it could have killed anyone of them.

Mara, Rami and Willa laughed. “Share, you stupid morons. It won’t make you less of a man,” Rami commented. Both boys turned around to look at them, their hands still in the glass.

“Shh, don’t say that louder or the entire bar will want to kill you”, Willa whispered.

“They already tried to kill us so many times, what’s wrong with a new one?” added Mara with a shrug.

The girls started to laugh just as Aisla joined them back to the table. “I don’t know what happened, but cheers to that.” She raised her glass and drank. The boys chuckled at that and set down Aisla’s old glass. After all the fuss, they were going to share. Mara rolled her eyes.

And they spent a few hours like that, throwing some banter to each other, sharing drinks and laughter.

Her eyes drifted to Jahn, who sat next to her, one hand gripping his glass and the other in the back of his neck. He seemed to notice she was looking at him because he winked at her. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” he murmured in a low voice.

She dedicated him a face. “A girl can’t think of nothing?”

“You are never thinking of nothing.”

She shrugged. “Fair point.”

He was _not_ flirting with her, by no means. He had been the first person she met outside of the place she had spent her first few years alone and they bonded faster than she thought. She enjoyed his company and turned out to be a nice friend; he never once made a move, a thing she was most grateful for. She didn’t have time or need for a relationship. She had been shocked when he told her he was Force-sensitive but couldn’t use it the way she did. He wasn’t interested in that, he had explained, and preferred to shoot things. In fact, he had the best aim of the squad. She could count on him always covering her back.

“Seriously though,” he interrupted her thoughts again. “Are you okay?”

She raised her eyebrows and laughed. It sounded weird to her ears; she never laughed. “I’m just tired. I need to sleep at least a complete standard day and then I will have to look out for a new assignment.”

“But we can wait until we take another. What we earned with the last one will last us for months, and since we had some money saved from the previous ones we took…”

“We can finally repair what we want from the ship,” she finished for him.

The Supernova, as Willa had called it once and the name started being used, was a very old freighter Jahn and Mara had found when they teamed up together. It had been abandoned, a thing that made Mara feel upset at how perfect the ship worked. It was not luxurious by no means and it wasn’t even pretty from the outside. But that made it even more special, since they customized it how they wanted. They painted it in different shades of purple, from top to bottom, with a painting so expensive they almost ran out of savings. The pilot cabin was broad enough for the six of them to sit during travels, so the added four more chairs next to the controls. Everyone had their own room, even though they were not as big as they wanted to but they could fit a bed and some simple furniture. Mara had the one at the top of the ship, perfect for her when they were landed in any planet, so she could get out and train on the roof. The last thing they needed to repair was the lounge: the couches were so ruined you had to be careful when you sat down or else you could end up with a screw in your ass, and they needed better windows, a new floor and another compartment to store their weapons. The first one they had bought was filled with Mara’s knives, Dmitri’s guns, Willa’s bombs and Aisla’s crossbow.

“Finally we will be done with it. We’ve been at it for four years now,” Jahn commented.

“I thought you enjoyed repairing it and adding little details to make it more ours.”

“I do, but I also want to finally sat down and whisper << _we are finally home_ >>.”

Mara raised her glass. “We will, soon.”

She took a last sip and gave it to Rami and Willa. Her head wasn’t spinning yet, but she felt a little dizzy. Between that and her lack of sleep, she was wondering why she was still up.

From across the table, Aisla moved her hands to signal her attention. The others were also listening. “What do you think about sneaking up in the next Government party?”

That awoke Mara. Her eyes widened, Willa covered her mouth with her hands and Rami spoke, “You are insane. We were almost caught in the last one and that was because these two idiots started to have a physical fight in the middle of the ballroom.”

Dmitri nearly chocked on his drink. “In my defense, I was completely sober and I was trying to pull Jahn out of the fight.”

“Something completely impossible,” Mara muttered.

“They were being dicks about what we were wearing and some of them made awful comments about the girls,” Jahn said. “I told them to shut the fuck up, and then they started punching.”

They all stared at him, the girls with shock. Actually, Mara had never asked for an explanation, they just ran away and decided not to speak about it again. The table was silent for a while. Finally, Rami asked, “Did you at least break anyone’s nose?”

Jahn chuckled. “Yep, and several fingers, too. I hope they stopped doing that ever since.”

“This happened… what? Three months ago? And we are finding out now?” Aisla demanded, her arms crossed over her chest and her face a mask of incredulity.

“You never asked. I knew you’ve said you are capable of defending yourselves, which I don’t doubt at all,” he added before any of the girls could reply to that. “Besides, I needed the fight.”

Mara tried not to smile. “Right, because you missed the mission before the ball.”

Jahn’s face paled. Aisla and Rami did a puppy face and started giggling. “Ow, right, he got ill, our massive immortal friend,” Willa spoke with a soft voice and her hands under her chin. Dmitri was laughing so hard he was about to fall from his chair.

Jahn gripped his glass tighter. Mara could see the veins in his hands standing out. “The only time I get sick in my life and it leaves me without being able to raise from bed.”

“I think I still have the picture we took with the reusable camera,” added Aisla. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a sad and green face.”

This time, Dmitri fell from his chair and just stayed there, rolling of laugher. The entire group laughed even harder —even Jahn managed a smile after the mess that was the other boy sprawled on the floor. Mara was letting herself enjoy the moment when her entire body stilled.

She stopped laughing at once, the hair of her arms standing up. Her heart started beating faster, her palms were sweating. The Force was warning her of something. _Danger, get out now_.

Next to her, Jahn went rigid. He had sensed it, too, even when it was later than her. They looked at each other and rose from their seats. The others stopped laughing as well, Dmitri still on the ground.

Mara heard Willa mutter, “Oh, oh.”

“We need to leave,” she said, her eyes looking around everywhere. The bar seemed to be working normally, people chatting, playing cards, a band playing on the other corner. But that didn’t mean something—or someone—could barge in the door at any minute.

At once, Dmitri picked himself from the floor. Aisla took her glass of wine and drank it in one go as she stood up. Willa and Rami did the same. Mara rounded the table and walked far from the front door. _Go through the back_ , the Force whispered to her. They all followed her, Jahn being the last one.

When they were about to reach the back, where Mara could see a hidden door, someone stepped in front of her.

“Mara, dear,” Maz spoke. She barely reached her waist. “Going so soon? Thought you might stay a few more minutes, I need to show you something.”

“Maz, I’m sorry but we have to go.” She raised her eyebrows in the hopes she would catch the hint. Without waiting for a reply, she step around her and walked towards the door. The rest of the squad followed her.

When she put her hand on the handle, another smaller one grabbed it as well. “Mara, you must listen to me. It’s something important,” Maz insisted.

Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it in her ears. If the Force had warned her like that, they really needed to leave at that moment. Yet the Force was also telling her to listen to Maz. With a sigh, she stepped back and told Aisla, who was walking behind her, “Go, I will catch up with you on the Supernova. And for the love of everything, please don’t make a scene.”

The last bit was dedicated to Dmitri, who tended to yell and shoot everything who came his way when he was nervous. He opened his mouth to protest but Willa elbowed him in he ribs. Without a word, Aisla opened the door and stepped into the small dark passage. They all went in, sparing a glance to Mara. She just nodded.

When it was Jahn’s turn, he whispered, “Are you all right?”

She swallowed. “Make sure you are all ready to depart by the time I arrive. By the way I was warned, I fear it’s something or someone who wants us badly.”

She put her hands on his back and pushed for him to get into the passage. He started running to catch the others; she could hear him shouting to the others to hurry up.

Maz closed the door and turned to look at Mara. Her eyes were still behind the same big lenses she adjusted to see better, yet she had more wrinkles than the last time they saw each other.

“This better be important, Maz,” she crossed her arms over her chest. She could feel her back starting to sweat because of the nerves. She hated to be unfocused at that moment.

Maz swallowed. “It’s been a long time since we last spoke, my child.” Mara hated to be called that by other people, but Maz was an exception. She was a link to a past she had nearly forgotten. “You know I feel bad for the life you are carrying but I can’t do anything about it. You also know about the way I understand the Force and I recently felt something tremble in it.”

Mara raised an eyebrow. “If there had been any disturbance in the Force, I would have felt it too,” she spoke, convinced.

“Or maybe not. You still have a lot to learn—”

“Maz, can you stop scolding me for being a twenty year-old who doesn’t know enough of the Force and get to the point? Because I already know that.” This conversation was really going no where; she needed to leave the planet. She uncrossed her arms and was about to take a step when Maz grabbed her wrist.

“I felt a connection, disturbance, a sign, one I’ve never felt for so long, probably about ten years ago, come back. I have never sensed it so strong before.”

Mara stilled. She felt a heavy lump in her throat. “What?” she asked in a whisper.

“I don’t want to give you any hopes, but I swear that’s what I felt. Are you sure you haven’t sensed anything in the last few weeks?”

“No, I—” she started to say, but she stopped. She had been so invested with the recent mission she couldn’t remember if she had sensed something. The only time she had felt different had been…

When she was checking her controls.

Looking for a voice long gone from the galaxy.

She had stood up, once again disappointed, when she had to sat down again, for her stomach had felt like a stone inside her and a massive headache had overwhelmed her. Aisla found her hours later, sat in the same chair, sleeping. Mara couldn’t even explain what had happened to her, only to not say a word to the others.

Was that it? The disturbance in the Force? Truth be told, she had never felt one, so she had no experience.

Maz saw how Mara widened her eyes when the realization reached her. “Again, don’t get too hopeful. I will try to investigate a bit more and will get back to you. I told you this so you would be more attentive about what you feel. Try to control your feelings, meditate, anything to help you keep the calm I know you need to have.”

Mara swallowed again. The old woman grabbed her hand then and squeezed, gently. “My child, please be safe. Now go,” she added and pulled for her hand towards the door. She opened it with her other one.

She glanced back at the woman, who winked at her. Mara dropped all that new knowledge to the back of her brain, for there were more important things to worry about. Like not getting caught. She turned and started running through the passage at the exact same moment the front door opened.

She couldn’t waste more time. She heard the door being shut behind her, all the light gone, so she ran in the darkness. But just a minute later, she saw light again in front of her. Mara ran faster until she got out of the passage. She was then surrounded by tall trees; Takodana was a planet full of forests and lakes, and Mara adored spending her free time there whenever she could. To think her visit had been cut short infuriated her.

She entered the forest and kept running. The Force was telling her a way to reach the clearing they had stationed the Supernova without being seen. She hoped the squad was ready for her.

A minute later, the sound of a ship reached her ears. She had no way of knowing what kind of ship was for the trees covered the sky. But when she stepped into a small clearing and looked up, her shock was so big she stopped short of her run.

There were at least 10 ships in the air, the biggest one being a light shuttle. They all carried the Government logo on their fronts.

With ragged breaths, she started running again, this time faster. If the biggest one was that shuttle, that could mean they haven’t landed yet and she probably had enough time to catch the Supernova and get them all flying and away from them in no time…

But she had to stop again with such a force she fell to the floor.

In front of her, figures clad in brown uniforms and pistols were coming towards her. She stood up and turned around, ready to lose them when she spotted more people in her way.

How on earth had they surrounded her and she hadn’t felt them?

Distantly, she heard, as if coming from afar, the rest of the ships landing in the planet. All these guards must have landed first and scattered to find her. Mara couldn’t get caught; she didn’t know what the Government of the Galaxy wanted with her, but with her long list of crimes she was sure she wouldn’t get out of there alive.

But she couldn’t hurt those guards either. They weren’t people who had _decided_ to work for a criminal, like the ones at Serenno. So she took out one of her long swords from her back and lighted it. She took a deep breath to control the beating of her crazy heart and dove towards the guards.

“Halt!” one of them screamed, but she didn’t. She just kept running. “Stop in the name of the Government!” he yelled louder at the same time he raised his pistol. The others did the same.

She figured out their problem: she couldn’t be harmed, so they wouldn’t fire at her. She worked that at her advantage and ran outside of the guards’ circle while they shot at anything just to scare her. It wouldn’t work.

By the time they reacted and started chasing her, she was closer to her ship and had sheathed her sword again; she couldn’t run with it in her hand, not when there were many trees around her. “Stop!” she heard them told her. Their footsteps could be heard even from the smallest animals; she still didn’t know how they got unnoticed by her.

Finally, she reached the clearing. The Supernova was waiting for her, the door open and the engines running. She let out a laugh and ran towards it…

…only to be stopped by a shot right in front of her feet.

Mara jumped and yelled, mostly because of the surprise. Who the _fuck_ had dared…?

She raised her head to her right, from where it had came from. And the answer arrived in the form of a man not much older than her, with his gun raised to her body. Mara noticed at once his dark hair, his sharpened face, his full lips, his broad hands gripping the weapon without trembling, and his eyes, filled with hate.

She needed to move, now, but she couldn’t be sure if this man would shoot her, and she didn’t have time to take out her sword again.

“Not so brave now, huh?” he asked, his voice deeper than she had thought it would be. He wasn’t wearing an uniform; his clothes looked expensive and they fitted his body. It didn’t let much to the imagination. Mara would’ve enjoyed the view if it weren’t for the fact she was more concentrated on getting out of there.

In a rush of inspiration, she answered, “Anyone can be brave with a gun in their hands. What happens when they don’t have it anymore?” And she threw her hands towards him.

The movement caught him by surprise and the weapon flew from his hands. She guided it with the Force until it reached the forest, then she let it go.

His face was a mask of shock and anger, like he couldn’t believe someone had done anything like that. Mara smirked and turned towards the ship. She wasn’t so sure if the others had made it or not, they _had_ to be safe…

Something stung her neck. She let out a yelp, stopped in her tracks again and raised her hand to see what had struck her. Her fingers brushed a small dart.

Mara laughed. Her vision started to turn dark.

“Is this the only way you have of defeating me?” she managed to say. Her knees were trembling now and she hated to be like this, that such a common poison could make her pass out like nothing. “You are all pathetic, at least you could have fought me.”

She turned her head; she was barely able to see the silhouette of the man, who was walking towards her like he was in no hurry. He had a small device in his hand, probably the thing from where he had fired the dart. Behind him, the other guards were catching up with him.

“Oh, don’t worry. I will have the pleasure of fighting with you in the legal field,” he answered with a wink.

She didn’t have any time to panic before her knees gave up and her entire world turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your support! English is not my main language so I'm sorry if any typos or some wrong phrases escaped me. It would mean the world if you could leave kudos and comments if you like it :)  
> and yes, Ben Solo will appear, I swear ;)
> 
> Additional info:
> 
> Fernet: Argentinian alcoholic drink mixed with Coke


	3. Chapter 3

When Aisla opened her eyes, she thought she had gone blind. Everywhere she looked, it was pitch black. Besides that, she didn’t have the necessary strength to move her body.

It took a while for her sight to get used to it. Finally, she could distinguish where she was: a small room —definitely a cell— with no windows, plain walls and a metal door in front of her. She also started to gain the control of her body again, so she sat up with difficulty. The dart someone had thrown to her arm definitely carried a strong poison that left her so numb it was hard for her to move as she wanted to… and she had sworn to herself never to be weak. Well, there she was, locked in a cell alone—

 _Oh, fuck_ , she thought. The Squad.

What had happened? Where were they?

All she could remember was the run into the forest trying to reach the Supernova as fast as they could, Jahn not explaining anything, only telling them to move faster. They had arrived to the ship and turned the engines on, hoping that Mara was not that behind them so they could get off the planet in time. And then they had heard a commotion outside, guards rushing inside the ship and shooting them with darts before they could react. Willa had been the first to fall, then Dmitri, his hands in his gun about to shoot, then Rami. Aisla knew then she had no time left, she wasn’t able to feel most of her body, when she saw the dark-haired man walking inside the ship as if he owned it. And she hated him instantly. The last thing she heard before Jahn and her fainted was his voice, ordering, “take them all,” and a guard coming towards her wearing the Government uniform.

They were all _fucked_ if the Government had them now. Not like there were worse people than the squad in the galaxy, but their list of crimes was a long one. And if they were now in the space station that served as the Government’s base, Takodana was the last planet she saw during her life.

And all of the sudden, a horrible thought came to her.

_I don’t want to die, I don’t deserve to die._

What she had to do in order to survive, what they all had to do, was not an excuse for anything, but they had done it anyway. Not like the galaxy, after the Final Order’s fall, was in the best place to begin with; everything had been a mess, and all of them had been born in the middle of it. By the time the Government had been founded, she had already lost her family and her old life. And then she had found the squad and her life had improved.

The metal door opened to a side with a sound so horrifying Aisla had to cover her ears. Outside, a group of five guards were waiting for her, all with their pistols at the ready. In the front, was a Sargent —she thought so, for the excessive cape, the hat and the insignias he carried on his shoulder— holding a pair of restraints.

All that was only for herself. _Wow, I feel special_ , she thought, amused. She had to think the better or this or she would loose her mind.

“Get up, scum,” the man ordered with an indifferent tone.

Aisla just rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall in a casual pose, like if her body didn’t hurt at all.

Obviously, the Sargent lost his patience. “I said, get up!” he screamed and grabbed one of her hands with such strength she had to suck in a breath. He yanked her to her feet and Aisla spit on his face.

The man let out a yell and, instantly, the guards were on her. She tried to fight them, but she had no force left. Two minutes later, they were escorting her through another gray hallway, her hands in restraints.

She wished they had given her time at least to clean herself. She had no idea how long she had been out, but she was wearing the same outfit from Takodana -loose yellow sweater, dark pants and elegant boots. She was now regretting that decision, for the boots made her feet hurt if she used them for long. Then, as if she had remembered something, she looked down, to her waist where she placed the holders of her pistols.

They were gone.

At least she hadn’t been carrying her crossbow, her favorite weapon, but after this she doubted she would get it back.

Aisla sighed and resigned herself to walk and discover her destiny, that possibly would be really disastrous for her.

🌠🌠🌠

Sapphira Breomount sat down next to her mother in the seats reserved for the Empirion delegation. She was beyond nervous to that point; she had begged her mother to let her come to one of the Government meetings so she could learn more about politics when she took her rightful place, and finally she had made it. She was in the space station built specially for the Government to discuss galaxy matters, the Asteria.

If she was being honest with herself, Sapphira didn’t know why the Government existed anyway. She knew the history of the galaxy by heart and the time of the Republic was her favorite. But it was also the saddest one. It had been such a good way to avoid one single faction to rule over others, and then it turned out that it was corrupted from the inside. While she looked around her and saw the members of each delegation, she wondered if the same thing would happen to this type of government, if someone seated among them had a greater desire than the one the Government had decreed: the vow to take care of the matters the galaxy deemed of great importance, such as treaties, immigration, equal rights for humans and other species, and so on.

But this meeting was different. It had been summoned the day before with no explanation of the subject to discuss and Sapphira had barely time to pack her best dress before they had to departure. This time, the Asteria was located near Naboo, but she knew the location was always rotating, so then the place of the meeting would be neutral. It had taken them half a standard day to travel and she already wanted to return home. Not because she was tired. The reason was sitting next to her and was looking at Sapphira as it was an insect that needed to be killed.

“Stop messing with your hands. You know better than to show your emotions either in your body or your face,” her mother hissed between her teeth.

Sapphira hid her hands beneath her legs. “Yes, mother,” she whispered, her heart breaking a little more each time her mother scolded her for any single mistake. At least she hadn’t said anything about her red hair, which was falling in loose curls over her shoulders. She had refused to get any odd hairstyle in her first meeting; she wanted to be herself.

Right that moment, she heard a horn around the room. It was so loud she had to resist the urge to cover her ears. Her mother, however, didn’t even flinch —she just stood up. Sapphira imitated her and looked around. Everyone else had done the same. They were seated in one of the highest balconies, so they had a special view of everything that happened in the room. In front of her, right in the middle, a podium rose from the ground. She knew that place belonged to the President of the Government, the person they voted once every two years to preside the meetings. That time, the title belonged to Augustin Pietro, member from the Marriten delegation. For what Sapphira had researched, he was in his mid-forties, had dedicated most of his life to politics and was teaching his son to follow on his steps, just like Sapphira’s mother was doing with her.

What she wasn’t expecting was seeing his son, standing beside him in the podium, a parchment roll in his hands.

She felt her cheeks get hot and had to hide her hands behind her back to stop them from trembling even harder. Sage always made her nervous whenever he was around. He was at least five years older than her, tall and handsome with his dark hair, his green eyes, his chiseled face, his suits that always showed all his muscles… yeah, she had a massive crush on him from the second she had seen him in one of the Government parties. And, of course, he never even noticed her. That hurt, Sapphira couldn’t deny it, yet her heart kept longing for him.

With him there, she doubted she would pay any attention at all. Just then, her mother elbowed her on the ribs. “Control yourself. This is a matter of utmost importance,” she spoke in that regal tone she only used in public.

“Do you know what’s happening?” she asked. Her mother didn’t seem appalled by seeing both father and son in the main podium, but Sapphira saw several people around her gasp or show surprise.

“Only the general details. You will find out soon,” and with that, she half-turned to look at the podium, her back to her daughter. Sapphira had to lean over the balcony to get a better look.

“Welcome, dear members of the Government,” Augustin spoke with his arms raised, like he wanted to hug everyone in the room. That was going to be hard since there should be over two hundred people in it. Sapphira had to stiffen a laugh at that thought. Everyone sat down. “I’m glad you all could make it in time for this urgent meeting. You see, I had recovered vital information that threatens the peace the galaxy has arrive to after twenty years of hard work. Of course, I felt it was in my obligation to call upon this gathering to discuss these events.”

While she heard him, she recognized all of the details that would make his sentences a perfect political speech: his conviction, the pause between the phrases, the way he turned around to address everyone gathered there, how he moved his hands to emphasize the important details. But what could be so important that demanded…?

“But before we start here, I would like to invite some,” he paused and he seemed to cough while saying at the same time “ _honorable_ guests,” he cleared his throat and continued, “that will become very important in this matter. Guards, if you please.”

If Sapphira had been shocked to see Sage there, the next thing that happened next almost made her faint of the surprise.

A platform appeared from one of the doors located west, another one from the east, and so on from each door. They were filled with guards escorting a restrained person. They floated until they reached another set of podiums, that had also rose from the ground. The guards then guided each person to a podium and remained there behind them. There were six in total; while ones had two or three guards around, one was filled with at least five, surrounding a girl.

And when she recognized her hair, she sucked in a breath and covered her mouth with her hands.

The entire room busted into screams. “Murderers!”, she heard some people yell. “Traitors!”. “You should die for your crimes!”. Yet the guests didn’t react to those accusations. They just stood in their podiums, their hands restrained in front of them, hair and clothes unwashed. Sapphira wondered how long ago they hap captured them. The rainbow-hair girl had her brow raised and her restrained hands were supporting her head, as if she didn’t care whatsoever that most of those screams were directed at her. The other three girls, one olive-skinned, other dark-skinned and the last one with delicate eyes, were just looking to each other. One of the boys, with black hair, turned around to survey the room. He smirked, like if he enjoyed the situation. His eyes then crossed paths with Sapphira, who was looking at him still with his hands on her face. He winked at her and her hands turned into fists. How dare he…?

“Ladies and gentleman, please,” Pietro had to raise his voice and his hands in order to regain the control. “If you would allow me to explain why we had gathered this group of children.” At that, the boy that had winked at her mouthed “ _children_?” and shared a look with the other man, taller and bigger than any of the others. Pietro didn’t resume speaking until the noise in the room had vanished, even though some people were still whispering. “I know this seems unexpected, specially since they are all wanted across the galaxy for their crimes and no single search party or reward was able to recover this squad of criminals—”

“Disaster.”

The word came out like a bomb. Everybody stopped whispering and looked fiercely to the one who had spoken. It had been, indeed, that very same boy. He had raised his head in a defying manner.

Pietro looked stunned at the interruption. “I beg your pardon?”

He just cleared his throat. “If you are going to address us, at least call the squad by its real name: the Disaster squad.”

He had a odd accent, Sapphira realized then: he pronounced some words differently and she found that… attractive? Weird? Disturbing? Her heart was beating so fast, whether it was from the nerves or the excitement, she had no idea, but that guy had called her attention from the start.

On the other hand, Pietro didn’t looked happy at the interruption. His face had turned a light shade of red. “You will speak when spoken to, Dmitri. You are in no position here to—”

“Or what?” another voice called out. This time, it had been one of the girls, the one with delicate eyes. Her hands were trembling but her tone remained firm. “You had us brought here with no explanation. At least you could have send us a request for us to come here, not have your psychopath son drug us and not let us wash before being presented to the _court_.”

Sapphira heard a collective gasp. By Pietro’s side, Sage remained impassive. “I only did as I was instructed to do: bring back the squad of criminals by any means possible—”

“Again, the Disaster squad. We are not criminals,” the boy called Dmitri interrupted again. “And nice touch with the court thing, Aisla, it definitely looks like one with all the sparkles and jewels I can see from here.” He surveyed the room again, his eyes stopping again on Sapphira. This time, she didn’t break eye contact with him. _Show him you are not afraid of him._

By her side, her mother took her hand to her neck, to her shining pearl necklace. Sapphira saw most of the presents did the same with their jewelry.

The boy did have a point.

“This doesn’t matter! You are here because of your horrible list of crimes had made you the most wanted criminals in the galaxy—!” Pietro tried to talk again, but someone else spoke.

“Wait, our crimes are worse than the ones committed by drug dealers, slavers or brothel owners?” the girl with dark skin took her restrained hands to her chest, as if to pretend to be heartbroken. “I didn’t know killing and destroying undesirable establishments was a crime.”

“And the hilarious thing,” spoke the other man, his arms bigger than any personal trainer she had meet, “is that they never tried to stop them. And they preferred to hunt us? A pair of _children_?” He emphasized the last word as it was poison.

 _Well, he looks older than all of them_ , she thought.

“Oh, we all know why they won’t hunt them,” added the light-brown skinned girl. “They keep their coffers full, and for what? They don’t even spend the money on anything.”

Dmitri chuckled. “They actually wasted it. Can’t you see what they are all wearing and how we are? This is a show of power… AND THEY ENJOY IT!” he screamed the last part. He raised his hands over his head and immediately the guards were on him, grabbing him with strength. He didn’t even try to fight them; he just smiled, showing all his teeth.

Sapphira gasped. Were they really saying those horrible things? If those people knew what the Government had done for the galaxy, to maintain the peace and prosperity they all were in. Around the room, everyone was whispering furiously. This had to be something they were not used to, since they all were politicians and lived comfortably.

The only one who hadn’t even reacted to anything that happened was the rainbow-haired girl.

“ENOUGH!” Pietro’s yell echoed through the room and silenced the last conversation. “This is not the place for you to say such accusations towards the Government. Nor you have the permission to speak, so the next time anyone of you opens its mouth I would have no problem to order the guards to shoot you in your legs.” He stared at them for a long time. Neither of them showed any sing of fear. One of the girls wrinkled her face. “Now, we will get to the matter at hand.”

At that, Sage straightened his back even more than before and extended the parchment roll he had kept in his hands the entire time. “This would be easier if you had last names, but we will carry on,” he said that as if not having a last name was a crime. She then noticed the rainbow-haired girl flinch, the first movement she had made after entering the room. Sage started reading, “Mara, Dmitri, Rami, Willa, Jahn and Aisla, you have been brought here, to the center of the Government, to respond for the accusations directed at you for committing the following crimes: assassination of innocent people at Coruscant after an explosion, falsification of trading papers, also falsification of permission to travel, kidnapping of innocent children—”

“Wait, when did that happen?” Sapphira heard Jahn ask in a low voice, his face full of surprise.

Sage continued reading as if nothing had happened. “—theft of a weapon’s arsenal dedicated exclusively to the Government’s use—”

“Ups,” the girl named Aisla muttered.

“—drug trafficking—”

“The _fuck_? We never did that!” Dmitri screamed in outrage ignoring the punch one of the guards gave him in his stomach.

“—identity theft of one of the members of the Government—”

“Cut the shit, Alexander Sage Pietro!” a new voice spoke up.

Everybody turned to look at the only person who hadn’t spoken until that moment. Sage’s hands trembled once but he soon recomposed himself. Sapphira’s mother muttered something under her breath she couldn’t catch, but she didn’t pay attention to anything else than the rainbow-haired girl. Mara. She was standing as straight as she could with the guards behind her, her eyes focused on the podium.

When she spoke again, she didn’t need to scream like the first time; the place was dead silent and her voice carried around with no effort. “We already know half of those crimes you read are false because you needed the excuse to capture us and bring us here. So cut the shit and say what is the real reason you have us here.” She then rose her arms… and her restraints fell to the floor of her podium.

Screams filled Sapphira’s ears. Her mother rose from her chair and ran towards the exit. Several people had done the same, while others remained seated due to the shock, Sapphira being one of them. But before they could get out of the room, all the doors shut down, trapping them all.

Sapphira couldn’t turn her eyes from the squad, as they called themselves. Dmitri was laughing so hard he was grabbing his stomach with his hands. The other man, Jahn, was looking around with a smirk, while the girls had their mouths open, staring at Mara. But she was only standing still, her hands crossed in front of her, the guards frozen by her side, looking at the Pietro’s. Sapphira then realized nobody would get in the room; she still wasn’t sure what on earth had happened, but she knew one thing: someone around the room was Force-sensitive, and her bet was on Mara.

Among all the chaos, Pietro just cleared his throat. He seemed not affected, yet Sapphira also saw his back leaning slightly towards his front. Slowly, people started to calm down, yet Pietro had to say “Ladies and gentlemen, please return to your seats,” for the place to finally quiet down again.

While everyone sat down, neither Mara or Pietro broke their stare.

“You are right, unfortunately. We must better get straight to the point.” He moved his hand and Sage withdrew the roll. He didn’t seem pleased with that decision, if his thin mouth gave any implication away. “We have summoned you here because, unfortunately, I don’t know any other people who might carry on with this task.”

Sapphira exchanged a look with her mother. She was as shocked as she felt. What were they talking about?

“We received crucial message from an informant, who passed away in his intent to deliver what I will reveal at this moment. Not many years ago, a scientist and an engineer were fired from the ranks of the Government because of their ideals. They did not agree on what this organization was doing and thought it was meant to do something bigger.” He made a pause, presumably for effect. From where Sapphira was seated, she saw that Mara didn’t blink at any moment. “This informant told me they had combined forces and created a weapon that was not very well explained but it had such an enormous power to change the course of the galaxy as we know it.”

The first thing that came to Sapphira’s mind was that history was repeating itself again. Both the Empire and the First Order had created weapons of massive destruction in order to become more powerful, and in both times they had been defeated. Why would those two people create such a thing now, when there was peace in the galaxy? Sapphira couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

“Let me guess,” Mara spoke. “You want the squad to find where they are so you can eliminate them before this matter becomes bigger and everyone knows about it.”

An obvious solution, Sapphira thought. But her heart stopped again when Sage said, “Not exactly. We want you to track them down, eliminate them and dispose of the weapon yourselves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo... what do you think of it? I kind of based myself from the Republic days but of course I added a few changes here and there. Any ideas of where this might be headed? And this is just getting started ;)  
> Don't forget to leave kudos if you liked it :D


	4. Chapter 4

Ever since Dmitri had been brought to the room inside the Asteria, his mind had been working on autopilot. Analise the place, the exits, the number of people, how many of them would he have to disable in order to get out of there alive. That had been the order he had worked on ever since he started taking the missions with the squad.

This situation was completely different.

There, they were surrounded and overpowered. Dmitri _hated_ with his entire being to feel like that; he couldn’t stand to be the “criminal boy” Pietro was making the people assembled there believe. So he defended himself the only way he could.

With banter.

No matter the punches, the insults, the hatred from that rich ginger girl he could feel even though she was half room away, he could take all of that as long as he felt better by _responding back_. And it had been working until Sage, Pietro’s disgusting son, mentioned the reason they were all there.

Silence fell under the room once again. Dmitri turned to look at his friends, his squad. Aisla was blinking so fast, like if she couldn’t believe what she just heard. Willa had covered her mouth as much as her restrained hands allowed her to. Jahn’s face was a mask of confusion, and so was Rami’s. As for Mara, she was just standing there and if she was the one with the power and not the Pietro’s, something he wished it was true.

And when he finally realized it was not a joke, that the Government had the intention to employ them for real, he let out a laugh.

The only sound in the room for a while was his laughter. He tried to grasp for air, to say something, anything sarcastic to lighten the situation, but if felt so _surreal_ he just kept laughing until his stomach hurt and had to grab it with his hands. When he finally calmed down a little, he spoke, “ _Us_? Doing the Government’s dirty work? How the tables have turned!”

He had tears in his eyes but he swiped them out to look at the podium. Neither men looked pleased with that assumption. Sage flared his nostrils. “Do you think it gives us pleasure to say this? It’s an emergency and, unfortunately, you are the only ones capable of doing it.”

Rami spoke before he could. “So when we mean nothing we are scum and criminals, but when you need us we are the _only ones available_? Kind of hard to buy.”

Dmitri gave her a wink and she blushed. It was hard for Rami to speak up sometimes and the fact she had said exactly what he was thinking——

Pietro cleared his throat. “I know this seems——unexpected, to say the least.” He then looked up, at the people assembled. “For all of you to understand the seriousness of this, you need to know more details and, of course, we will vote on it. If the Government decides they don’t want your help, then you won’t do it.”

Jahn rolled his eyes. “And then charge us for half the crimes we didn’t commit? That’s rich.”

“We never said——”

“Ah, but you thought of it, didn’t you?” Dmitri added. “Piece of cake: either you send us to our death, which is completely unlikely since we are smarter than anyone else here,” he heard a few groans of disgust but ignored them, “or they vote no so then you have the excuse to having us here to trial us. I can see the hypocrisy of keeping the peace slipping away from your pockets, since I can name a few others who had committed worse crimes than ours.”

“Or better, he could have called this meeting before, have them vote what they want to do about it and then send for us,” said Willa. “This actually demonstrates you acted behind their backs and I doubt anyone here will be pleased with that.”

Dmitri let out a low “ _uuuuhhhh_ ” that resonated around the place. It was true; if all the Government’s decisions were taken by all of its members, just by having them there without asking anyone constituted a massive mistake.

A buzz sounded in the room, then other. Dmitri saw some balconies lit up a orange button, probably to ask for permission to speak. His brow furrowed. That was so polite and organized, something he wasn’t used to at all.

One man, with white hair and dressed in a purple tunic, stood up. “You better have a good reason to have brought this squad here without asking to the Government’s institution first, Pietro,” he spoke without raising his voice, which meant they had to have a microphone installed so everybody could be heard around the room.

“I know it sounds suspicious, to say the least,” Pietro started to explain, “but I assure you I did not want to worry the members of this institution with such concerns——”

“We are all members for a reason, Augustin,” a woman spoke without asking for permission, “so then we can provide the galaxy with the peace it deserves. If you acted this time behind our backs, what will stop you from doing it again for whatever reason?”

That brought back the shouts of anger. _They did have a point_ , Dmitri thought; if Pietro kept doing things like that, they had every right to be angry. But when he turned to look around, he saw that some had not reacted at all. Life if they _knew_ what Pietro had done. A chill went through his body and, for the first time since they had been captured, he felt a spark of fear.

Among the shouts, a buzz sounded, insistent. Dmitri turned around to see where it came from——and his eyebrows shot up when he realized they came from the balcony the red-haired girl was sitting in. But this time her mother——not to hard to assume since they had the same hair——seemed to be arguing with the girl in low voices. Dmitri could see how flushed the girl’s face was.

Pietro shouted, “Mrs. Breomount, is there you would like to add?”

That seemed to calm the others a little, even though some were still talking. The woman had opened her mouth to speak but someone spoke before she could. “Actually,” the girl said, ignoring her mother’s shocked face and standing up, “I want to say something.” She looked so small despite the dark blue dress she was wearing that made her look older than he knew she was. She was trembling from head to toe, but her chin was up——and was looking directly at Dmitri, like daring him to say anything. He just smiled at her.

 _She is so brave and naive in this dark world_ , he thought.

“Everyone, please, calm down. We will listen to Mrs. Breomount’s daughter,” Pietro said.

The girl flared her nostrils, as if she didn’t like to be called “ _someone else’s daughter_ ” but didn’t comment on it. Instead, she spoke like if she was already a member of the Government, “Although I do not applaud what you’ve done, I also understand why you did it. Since the reaction of most of the audience was of horror and anger, I can see why it was better to have them here already so then you can describe what exactly is the problem they will be facing.” Dmitri raised his eyebrows and had to control his mouth to not let it drop to the floor. That girl was probably younger than either of the squad and she was speaking as an adult. “However, you should probably tell us what is the emergency of the situation that forced your hand so then we can place our votes, as the law commands it.”

And with that, she sat down. Dmitri turned to watch the squad: Jahn whispered to him, “ _Was that for real_?”, Aisla and Rami had both their mouths open, Willa was smirking and Mara——she bowed her head, as if she was thanking the girl for speaking up.

His shock grew bigger. Mara never did such a thing.

“You heard her,” she said then and crossed her still free hands on her chest. Behind her, the guards were still watching her, but without any indication if they would make a move towards her. Dmitri doubted that; for the look in their faces, they were terrified. “Please, enlighten us with the issue.”

Pietro cleared his throat. “Very well, then. I assume you are all aware of the Final Order and the last battle of Exegol.”

Dmitri swallowed. _Every single one of them_ was aware of that battle. He thought he saw Mara’s hand clench into fists but they were hidden from view because of her arms.

“After it, the few ones that had participated in it and hadn’t perished in the battle were persecuted and captured. Most chose to die rather than to face the justice they deserved, so we could only find a few. One of them was this engineer——not the one that left the Government, but one that worked close enough to the leaders of the Final Order and possessed valuable information. He asked to be kept prisoner but been able to pass on what he knew, since he swore what he knew had to be taught. We have a group of experts working for the institution in order to decide which laws should be passed in order to fulfill its purpose and also to develop new technology to aid on that. So, under close observation, we let one of own, Clement Osborne, to study with him.” Dmitri was about to interrupt and say why was all that important to the mission, but Pietro kept speaking, “This man died at least a decade ago, with more than half of the knowledge passed on to Osborne. He used all he learned to develop this space station we are now standing in,” he raised his hands as to point at the Asteria, “and was starting to develop some new technology for which he never explained why when he went missing last year.”

Aisla asked then, “By missing you mean someone kidnapped him or that he left willingly?”

Sage pierced her with his stare but Aisla didn’t back down. It was the most logical thing to ask, after all. “We don’t know. He simply stopped attending his post and, by the time someone went to check on him, his belongings were gone, no note left behind and the place seemed undisturbed. That’s when we began investigating and we found out we had another member missing as well.”

“And the plot thickens,” Dmitri whispered, his voice serious. The entire squad snorted at that remark, yet Pietro didn’t pay him attention, again.

“Osborne had started to work in collaboration with one of our oldest scientists, who managed to stay hidden during the last war and offered his services when he learned of the Government’s creation. And now Jared Doughtry is missing too, same way Osborne did. We thought they had left the institution without telling anyone when this informant, one of our few remaining spies, passed on the message that they were still working together. He didn’t manage to say all since he was murdered, probably by both Osborne and Doughtry, to prevent from anyone to find them.”

The place was silent for a moment. Then, Willa asked, “If you have no idea what they were creating, why do you think it’s so dangerous?”

Sage straightened his back again. _God, I hate him_ , Dmitri thought. “We managed to hack into the old server both Osborne and Doughtry were using during their time at the institution; apparently they hadn’t protected their data very well, since among it we found the blueprints of what looked like a devastator weapon——and some chemical formulas.”

 _And where was the correlation_?, he kept thinking. Also, he was totally disgusted at the way Sage was saying “ _we_ ”; he could bet the Supernova on the fact he hadn’t done a thing to help that research, except learning it so he could tell it there.

Dmitri shrugged his shoulders. “And? I’m waiting to see the connection, unless they created a gun that launches boogies to their enemies.”

Sage’s face turned red of anger. “And this is the reason why you will never be someone important, Dmitri: you have demonstrated you have no brain at all.”

His hands turned into fists and blood boiled in his ears. “You motherf——”

“Stop mistreating my squad, Sage, or you will not receive our help,” Mara cut him off. She was staring at him and for a moment Dmitri wished she could Force choke him to make him shut his mouth.

Two seconds later, Sage’s face went white and brought his hands to his neck. He tried to speak but he gagged. By his side, Pietro shook him. “Son, what’s happening?”

Dmitri’s mouth fell open. All the girls gasped beside him and Jahn whispered, “Mara, are you insane? This can hurt us.”

“I don’t care,” she whispered back, her eyes focused in only Sage. Dmitri couldn’t stop staring at her, the hard line of her mouth, her body tensed and her eyes that seemed to spit fire. A few seconds later, Sage started coughing and had to brace himself against his father. Both stared at her while she said in a voice low enough for only them to hear, “I will remind them that, even though they seem to have us under their command, I’m still more powerful than any of them.”

Dmitri couldn’t agree more. He winked at Mara, and she smirked at him. He knew she didn’t agree with him most of the time because of his crazy attitude, but they respected each other.

Around the place, people were muttering among themselves, wondering what had happened to Pietro’s son. Dmitri turned to check upon the redhead’s reaction. She had her hands over her mouth and her eyes were big and… did those look like tears about to fall? _She likes him_ , he realized.

“We are still waiting,” Mara reminded them again.

Pietro didn’t dare to protest; even he knew how powerful she was among them. “We have the theory that they could be developing some kind of virus we have no immunity to fight off and a weapon that can destroy a village with just one shot. Not like the Death Star or Starkiller base, you need more resources for that, but one big enough to cause chaos around the galaxy.”

Dmitri frown but he didn’t want to talk again and be insulted for what he considered to be a fair question. It was Jahn who asked this time, “Do you have any idea of their motives, why are they doing that?”

Both men shook their heads. “I didn’t know any of them well, but one of Osborne’s colleges assured me that the last time he had seen him he acted differently, with a weird glint in his eyes, or that’s what he said. Nonsense, to me.” Pietro didn’t pay attention to that detail but Dmitri knew Mara had listened very well to every single thing they had said.

So they were supposed to stop two men who were _probably_ creating something so dangerous it could put the galaxy in danger of a war again. Fair enough. Still, there was one thing to discuss.

Dmitri exchanged a look with all the squad. They were asking the same thing with their eyes, because he was thinking the same. Then, they faced Mara. She looked at each other, nodded and then spoke, “And what’s in for us?”

Obviously, there were groans in the entire room. “Of course they want money, that’s all they think about!” he heard one man scream loud enough for them to hear. _What a bunch of hypocrites_.

“It’s completely fair,” Aisla interrupted. “You are asking us to risk our lives in something you don’t want to face, we kind of deserve it.”

Pietro’s shoulders sag down. He looked defeated. “Name your price.”

Willa spoke before anyone else could. “The permission to fly anywhere we want, with a guarantee we will never be prosecuted again.”

Jahn added, “And a big amount of credits, say at least a million to each of us, so we can live without doing this again.”

“That we get to keep our ship,” Aisla said, and then she muttered something that took Dmitri by surprise, “And the closure of every single brothel or pleasure house in the galaxy.”

The room quieted. Dmitri took his chance to speak, “You will also help anyone that can’t find a decent job to maintain themselves, who is living in poverty and those who had to quit because of any decease or accident.”

More silence. Rami was the next, “That you help anyone who wants to enter college and to provide funds for chemistry, physics and biology institutes.”

Those requests were getting weirder by the second. The only one left was Mara. She took a deep breath and then spoke, “And you will improve the situation of orphaned children. No more sleeping in horrible conditions, no more slavery for them. You claim to sought peace and yet these are things you never did anything to help with, even though this institution has all the resources to do so. Which means that, if you decide on not counting with out help, then the galaxy will finally know what is your real face.”

Her speech resonated around the room. They had fallen into their own trap, and they just realized that. Dmitri couldn’t help but feel so proud for her friend, that fierce woman who had taken him in without explanations, that gave him a place to sleep and a gun to defend himself and hadn’t even asked why. That had saved his ass all the time, and he had done the same without realizing it. That had introduced him not only to new friends, but to a found family he couldn’t imagine himself leaving behind.

Pietro and Sage exchanged looks. They turned their backs at them and began whispering. _Was it really that hard to think?_ They were like that for a few minutes until Pietro cleared his throat. “Very well. We will discuss with the members present about the terms and conditions of this agreement. In the meantime, you will be escorted to another room, still restrained and heavenly guarded but you will be able to wait peacefully. Since you are not members, you cannot take part in the decision.”

Dmitri could have fallen to his knees when he heard that. He wouldn’t even want to be in such a boring meeting anyway. The process could take hours and they could finally rest for a little while, even with the restraints.

As their were escorted back to the flying platform that had brought them inside the first time, Dmitri raised his eyes to see the girl. He couldn’t tell why he was so interested in her, but it was indeed hilarious when he passed in front of her and she didn’t break his stare. Like if she was _challenging_ him instead.

He hoped he would see her again.

🌠🌠🌠

It had probably been two hours, but Sapphira felt like there had been twelve. Everytime they were about to agree to something the squad had asked, someone fought back against it and they had to start all over again.

She was dying to ask if all the Government meetings were like this, but she feared her mother would call her something so hurtful she wouldn’t even want to leave the house for months. And she didn’t feel like going through that again. And she also had the feeling that they would agree to it either way——Pietro had to be beyond desperate to act behind everyone’s back to get the squad assembled there without anyone knowing.

The Disaster squad. Again, they had asked for such weird things. Didn’t people in Espirion received credits when they weren’t able to work anymore? And hadn’t her father made her visit and orphanage few years ago to check how things were coming along? But she had only seen how Espirion was. She didn’t know where they were from, their situations could have been so different to what she was used to.

Exhausted, she rose from her seat. Her mother tried to hold her wrist but Sapphira shook it off. “Where on earth are you going? You will embarrass me.”

“If I don’t go get some air I will develop a headache. I will return,” she answered without turning and walked to the door behind their balcony.

Entering that passage shouldn’t have been so comforting, but it was. The air was not as heavy as inside the room, where hundreds of people had been sitting together for the past hours. She took a few deep breaths and it helped more than she thought it would. But the single idea of returning to the room and sit again for who know how many hours until they all said yes made her uncomfortable. So she decided to just walk around the hallway for a while.

She was starting to feel that, maybe, she wasn’t made for being a politician. She had been looking sideways to her mother while the others discusses; not once she seemed uncomfortable or tired, she always seemed to be paying attention for whenever it was her time to talk she was ready to respond. Meanwhile, Sapphira had already lost the thread of the conversation at least five times. She felt dread in her heart. What if that was not what she wanted, after all these years of studying politics and the history of the galaxy for only to decide not to pursue it? Her family would definitely be ashamed of her, specially her mother.

And then she thought, _would she really force me to do it anyway?_

No. She wouldn’t be that cruel. But now she was not completely sure.

Her thoughts made her loose track of where she was walking because, when she raised her eyes from the floor, she didn’t recognize where she was. There was no way to be lost in the Asteria, since there weren’t that many places to go to, yet she couldn’t remember where she was. Right in front of her, a line of five guards were standing still, their backs straight and their hands in guns, looking directly ahead… at nothing.

She frowned. “Excuse me, what are you staring at?” she asked the nearest one.

He didn’t look at her; instead, he pointed in front of him with his head. “Look through that window, miss.”

Sapphira walked until she reached his line of vision. And then she understood. In front of her, there was a window that overlooked a vast white room. Sitting inside, their backs against the wall, was the Disaster Squad.

She pressed her hands against the window, trying to get a closer look at them. She had been to far to actually see how they looked like, but now that she was there… “Can they see us?” she asked again.

“The window is one-sided, miss. You can look at them, but they can’t.”

Sapphira thought she had heard something like relief in the guard’s voice, yet she wasn’t sure. Knowing they couldn’t know she was there, she took her time observing them.

The white walls definitely brought up the sad state they were in: their hair looked greasy and without any form, like if they hadn’t showered in days, their clothes were wrinkled and all of them had their eyes closed. The girl with delicate eyes——Aisla——was wearing a yellow sweater that must have been beautiful, but now it was covered in dirt. Willa had a long black dress, its brocade falling apart in pieces. Both Jahn and Mara were wearing shirts, Rami was in a jumper, while Dmitri… she could never say it out loud but his leather jacket made his arms stood out more than she wanted.

They couldn’t be comfortable at all given how they still were using restraints, even Mara. How she had let herself be tied up again was a mystery for Sapphira, but at that moment she wanted to let them free, at least allow them a mattress so they could rest. Because they were sleeping, their backs against the wall. Mara’s head was resting against Jahn’s shoulder, and Aisla was doing the same on Mara’s. Dmitri was holding Rami and Willa, each in one side and Sapphira couldn’t help but feel weird watching this.

Despite everything she had heard about them, their crimes and how they acted, they simply looked like normal teenagers then, trying to get some rest. They didn’t seem harmful at all, yet she knew they could be deadly. She had seen their eyes, specially Dmitri’s and Mara’s, how they had analyzed everything with a cold stare… including herself.

Right that moment, Mara’s eyes suddenly opened. They were so dark Sapphira guessed they had to be black, such a contrast with her colorful hair. She took a deep breath and then stared up front, right where Sapphira was standing.

She stiffened. _Can she see me?_ But before she could panic and run away, a movement by her side caught her eyes. She turned and nearly gasped.

Sage was standing right beside her.

She hadn’t seen or hear him coming. What was he doing there? Up close, she could notice how dark his hair was, his thin lips, how tall he was compared to her. He seemed to own the hallway just by standing like that.

Sapphira turned to the room and, sure enough, Mara was staring at Sage, as if she knew he was there. Her eyebrows went down in anger and her mouth tightened.

Sage didn’t seem to notice Sapphira standing beside him and that broke her heart even more. She was invisible even in a small hallway. He took a step to his other side and touched something in a panel she hadn’t seen before. An invisible door opened to the room and he entered without looking back.

She felt doubt. Should she enter, make herself visible not only to Sage but to the squad, or just stand there, outside, as an spectator? Her palms were sweating hard and she pressed them against her dress. How could she be that nervous when she didn’t know them? _But_ , her treacherous part of her brain whispered to her, _they will judge you the second you enter. They will probably think you are such a delicate thing who had no idea of life and her surroundings._

She was about to cry. _No, stop_ , she thought to herself. She had to remain calm and just watch. She needed to know what was he doing here, nothing more.

Sage had walked until he was facing the group. Mara didn’t even blink, she just followed all his actions. At the sound of the door opening, the rest stiffened and woke up from their sleep. Every single one of them groaned. Aisla detached herself from Mara’s shoulder.

“What the fuck do you want, Pietro?” Dmitri asked, his hands wiping his face as the restraints allowed him. “Can’t you see we are napping? Don’t you have any respect?”

Sage just crossed his hands over his back, hiding them from view. But Sapphira could see them: they were on fists. “I wouldn’t show you any respect given what you have done.”

Aisla snorted. “Don’t you even dare. You look like a space prince, yet we all know you have a dark soul.”

Sapphira raised her eyebrows. What?

“Oh, so you say you know me more than myself? That’s completely interest…”

“The fuck do you want?” Mara interrupted him again. Her voice was filled of anger. “You want to look down on us like we are dirt under your shoe? Too bad we are the dirt that, no matter how many times you clean it, it will never go away.” She rose in one swift movement, without using her hands to hold herself. Sapphira could have never moved like that. Mara walked until she stood in front of him, a few inches shorter than him. The sight of it took her breath away. “I wish you would be on our place, to see which decisions would you have chosen to survive and how would you act if someone so rich and used to being served treated you like you don’t deserve to live. Because that’s what you are, after all: daddy’s son.”

Sage lowered his head until they were only fingers apart. The squad and Sapphira could only stare. “I’d rather die than do what you did. I have my principles, unlike you, who enjoys to spill blood. I’ve read the reports. The few ones that survived your raids saw you smiling while you took lives, that didn’t even tremble when stabbing someone.”

Mara shrugged. “A girl’s gotta eat. And in the end, you enjoy it in some way. Maybe you would do it too.” Her voice had become deeper, her mouth opening just one fraction.

 _Would they kiss?,_ Sapphira thought desperately. Behind her, she heard the guards ready their guns; they would shoot the second they saw any of them attack Sage, or if Mara touched him. Without thinking, she walked until she was in the threshold of the door and shouted, “Sage, back down!”

Whatever had happened inside disappeared. Mara took a step back and the rest of the squad stood up, Jahn and Dmitri flanking her. Sage took a deep breath and turned to look at Sapphira. She saw surprise his eyes, and then disgust.

_Oh, God._

“What on earth are you doing here, Miss Breoumount? Don’t you know these are dangerous criminals and would hurt you without hesitating?”

Sapphira straightened her back as tall as she could and rose her chin. “It’s Sapphira, Sage, and they seem as harmless as a fly at this moment.”

Willa muttered a low “ _uuhh_!”, and Dmitri surveyed her. His eyes and lips turned up and he smiled. “Oh! Welcome, princess, to the quarters of the underground. I would offer you something to drink but here I am, still tied up.”

The squad burst into laughter. Sapphira stiffened. Had he joked with her? When the laughter died down, she responded in an icy tone, “Too bad my thirst has already been satisfied. And I wouldn’t take anything you offered even if you were the only drinking source available.”

The girls laughed again. He opened his mouth and sucked in a breath. “Oh, goodness, I am wounded!”

“You deserved it,” said Jahn, quietly. He smirked and nodded towards Sapphira. She bite down her lower lip to stop herself from smiling.

Sage took large steps to where she was standing. He grabbed her fiercely by her arm. “You don’t belong here. Get out,” he ordered her.

She grabbed his hand with her free one and dig her nails hard enough until she let her go with a groan. “You don’t give me orders.” She may have a crush on him but she wouldn’t let herself be ordered around like that, specially not in front of the squad.

They had been looking at the exchange in silence. Then Aisla spoke up, “How does it feel like, when they don’t obey you? Must be hard. You have my respects, girl.”

Sage was about to answer when someone spoke from the hallway. Ah, so you are here already. Good.”

They both turned to see Pietro walking towards them, followed by some of the members of the Government, her mother among them. She saw her purse her lips together; of course she would be screamed at leaving the room and ending up here.

“Mind if you let me enter?” Pietro asked. Sapphira and Sage stepped away. Up close, she saw how young he still was, probably because of all the exercise she heard he did every day. His hair was combed back, not a single hair out of place. This close, Sage seemed so much alike him and that disturbed her. Pietro walked until he was standing in front of the squad. They were looking at him with their eyebrows up. “The Government has arrived to the decision of hire your services to locate and capture Osbourne and Doughtry, and destroy what they had created. Your demands have been approved and when we get the news you have successfully completed the mission, they will be given to you.”

He made a pause, probably to see how they were taking it. But if he was expecting some shouts of either joy or anger, he didn’t get them. Instead, they nodded, as if they knew what would happen. “I suppose you will give us all the information we need, recent clues your informant picked up and our weapons and ship back,” Mara demanded.

“And the chance to clean ourselves before we depart,” added Rami, tugging at her destroyed shirt. “And new clothes. Your guards didn’t treat us fairly when they brought us here.”

“Of course, and in behalf of them I apologize. We will treat you now as work partners,” Pietro made a gesture with his hands and the guards stepped inside the room. Without saying a word, they took out every restraint from them and then left. Willa caressed her wrists and let out a hiss, as if she had been hurt.

To be honest, Sapphira was absolutely certain they would accept. All that from before had been mere show. Yet Sage seemed like he wanted to disagree with everything. “Father, you can’t trust these people. They are vicious and we don’t know if they will end their part of the bargain.”

“Vicious? That must be the cutest thing someone has ever told us,” Dmitri said, his hands over his heart. Now that he could move freely, Sapphira noticed now long his fingers were. _Why am I looking at that?_ , she asked herself.

“I understand your concerns, Alexander. That’s why the Government has decided that they will be accompanied by two of its members, to assure they return safely and to oversee their actions.

That brought up reaction from the squad.

“Eh? You want us to what?” Janh asked, incredulous.

“We can’t be taking care of people who don’t even know our way of work,” Aisla protested.

“They will probably step on their own feet and fall on a sword,” Willa added.

“That’s why we decided that these two companions have your own age or closer. I hear that young lings have a tendency of accommodating to certain places a bit faster than elders.”

A feeling of dread settled upon her stomach. If he meant young people, and for what she had seen at the room, there haven’t been that many teenagers…

“Who?” she asked, almost a whisper.

Pietro turned to look at Sage and Sapphira, still standing by the door. “How lucky you two are here. That means you got to meet them a while before you depart with them.”

A moment of silence. Nobody moved. Then, eight voices rose up in a single scream, muttering one word.

“ _WHAT_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the update but this quarantine took out the best of me. How are you enjoying the story? Have any idea where it might lead? There is a lot of banter coming, just saying ;)  
> Don't forget to leave kudos and comments if you like it :D
> 
> Additional notes:  
> Espirion: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Espirion


End file.
